*drip*

A heavy droplet of warm water trickled down from the ceiling before hitting my face.

*drip*

Another followed as both rolled down from my forehead onto my eyelids, before running down the side of my cheeks. My closed eyes tensed and I slowly opened them, struggling to make out my surroundings. It felt like I was waking up from a deep slumber, my vision blurry, throat parched and every muscle sore as if I just did a triathlon. I moved my fingers to check if they’re still working, to my surprise I found my right hand to be gripping onto something. It was dark, very dark. I could only guess from my last recollection that I was in the now sealed cave where I pulled the sword out of the altar, maybe even further into the mountain, it wouldn’t surprise me if the floor of the cave shattered and sent me downwards. I mean it’s a surprise that I’m still alive, however stranger things could happen. For example an ominous looking sword calling out to you in a name you never heard before, as well as the events that followed the crumbling on the cave. I mean just who was that? Maybe it’s the mind playing tricks on me when I was about to reach death's door. Alas those questions can take a back seat for now, first things first. Figure out just how far I fell and if I can get out of here somehow. Standing up proved to be a challenge, the thing that was in my hand was refusing to be let go, so I had to use my left arm in order to push myself off the unpleasantly warm floor. For a moment I thought I might’ve soiled myself from passing out, however the area around me wasn’t wet or sludgy, the hard dirt ground was just warm, making me think that I fell far enough into earth that I ended up closer to the centre, would explain the heat from the floor, the dry air as well as why warm water was falling from the ceiling.

*Clang*

Moving off the floor I heard a metallic rattle stemming from my shoulder as it spiralled downwards to my closed palm, at first I thought that I was still holding onto the sword, but I don’t remember any chains being attached to it? It wasn’t uncomfortable per say, not heavy or awkward to hold, rather just in the way of my natural body movements. Now standing at full height, I could feel pressure in my palm. The end of the object was firmly being pushed back into my hand as it came into contact with the ground, my elbow was slightly bent as if I got caught in mid motion trying to reach into my pocket. I pulled my elbow back to give a bit more free range, and hopefully this would allow me to get a grasp on the length of the object in my hand if I straightened my arm out to point it forwards.

As I moved my arm in a crescent moon motion upwards, just as I was to reach the apex of the arc I could hear the metal scrape against rock, and felt the vibration from the end course into my palm. My eyes had slightly adjusted to the darkness, and I was finally able to make out the shape of the ‘room’ I was in. Even though it resembled a cave, it was very different from the one I was last in. For starters this one was smaller in diameter, about 2-3 metres to be specific, the ceiling was lower, I checked by moving my free arm upwards, and seeing as I couldn’t feel like I was touching anything. I gave the preoccupied arm a go, and lo and behold, once again I heard and felt metal scrape rock. By this point I was certain that what I held onto was the sword, my previous doubt started to become irrational, but one question did remain from my findings. Where the fuck did this chain come from!? Last time I checked there was no chain, was it connected to a wall or something? Have I been imprisoned? No, surely they would’ve taken the weapon away, I mean hello? Imprisonment 101 make sure your hostage is unarmed! It would be a blessing in disguise, either that or my captors were confident that even with a weapon I wouldn’t be able to escape, but that doesn’t make any sense either since only my right arm is chained. Every moment since I woke up has been filled with nothing but questions, but the answers were nowhere to be seen. I looked around again trying to pick up anything I might’ve left out, in times of discord all you can do is find, regain your centre and do what you can. As I calmed down I could feel a slight waft of cooler air graze against my back, the clothes I had been wearing were now in tatters. The shirt was barely hanging on with most of it torn through leaving me with nothing but a rag that felt more like an extended crop top with large gashes showing open skin. The trousers weren’t in any better state, the ends of them were ripped off barely reaching halfway down my calves. And don’t even get me started about footwear. The bottoms of the shoes I wore were peeling off and I swear one of my toes was peeking out from the front! I’ve been in odd situations before, but not once have I felt such sympathy and closeness to a cartoon representation of a homeless person. The only saving grace was that it was warm here, humid and uncomfortable, but warm. At least I don’t have to worry about hypothermia.

Putting my wingdings aside, the flow of air piqued my interest. I couldn’t really call it a draft; it was more like a gentle breeze that was on and off, coming and going like an indecisive cat. Staying here wouldn’t amount to anything, so I turned myself around, my captured arm swung and the sound of scraping metal against rock was heard once more before I felt it get caught.

“ARGHH, Useless sack of… Fuck you!” I pushed through with my palm hard on the wedged item. Even if I applied a lot of force, the way it came out of the rock felt like I was slicing through butter. The scraping sound never came, nor did a noise indicating that I removed a stuck object, but my arm and in turn the hunk of metal which I still believe to be the sword I held previously, came free, and a thump followed. A heavy piece of rock or whatever that caught the sword had come clean off. With everything happening it was less of a surprise and more of a relief that I could actually move from my starting spot.

Now back on track, I followed the breeze until I came to the edge of the cave. I traced my free hand around the wall until I could feel a crack which began to widen as I went down. The crack sprawled out and I had found an opening, I still kept tracing my hand around the edges of the opening as I knelt down. It was wide enough to fit a person if they crawled, which right now wasn't a favourable situation considering the ‘attachment’ being held in my right hand, but this was my only shot at getting out of here and possibly not dying of starvation and dehydration in some dark cave. I survived a cave-in once already, going through some opening even if it turned into a tunnel should be easy enough. I put my right arm forwards through and out of the opening in the wall making sure to guide the sword out first so I could come out myself, thankfully it wasn’t a tunnel. Upon exiting the cave my visibility returned to about 60ish percent, it was a large opening, much like a tunnel turned cave, the walls were wide apart and every few metres or so a blue-ish glowing rock could be found which illuminated much of the dark, empty space. The ceiling was high and stalagmites of all sizes drooped as they formed all across it, much like the walls the stalagmites themselves had blue glowing rocks at the tips. A welcoming scenery much befitting of an adventure fantasy tale, the glow took away from the eeriness of the space. Even Though the air was still humid, it was much more free flowing through the large space. From basic observation I could tell that the large space only went in one direction, and that the opening I escaped from was right at the back. I was finally able to confirm that the item which was so firmly locked in my grip was the sword that I pulled out of the altar much earlier, and once again from my previous deduction there were chains wrapped over my arm reaching all the way up to my shoulder, they connected from the bottom of the hilt all the way up twisting and wrapping just tight enough to allow free movement. It was a strange sight to say the least, the ends of the chains themselves were embedded into my shoulder, piercing through the skin, muscle and attaching to the bone, yet I didn’t feel pain or discomfort. No signs of surgery or anything of the sort could be found either, I couldn’t see much due to the lack of a mirror, but even then, twisting my neck far enough I could tell.

I looked at the sword again, a peculiar item indeed. Still as beautiful as it was when I first laid my eyes on it, even more so due to the glimmer the blue light was creating on the blade. At first sight it was just a very well designed black katana with a beautifully ornamented guard, on second inspection one could tell that a myriad of purple hues blended and weaved through the black metal of the blade, giving off a mellow tone that largely contrasted its initially fierce and mysterious look, and to top it all off the light that now reflected off the blade created a vivid, dancing array of dark and bright luminosity that glowed onto the ground and rock around the area. A beautifully crafted art piece in the shape of a deadly weapon, it was quite poetic. However as all things do, my blissful appreciation for the weapon had to be cut short by a higher pitched growl.

My head snapped towards the deeper end of the space as my eyes scanned for the source of the noise. Even with the increase in visibility it was hard to tell what it could be, a furred figure low to the ground, no taller than a standard desk crawled along the floor with red glowing eyes. Reminiscent of a wild boar but much more grotesque, for starters the tusks of the… animal? Beast? Monster? Whatever it may be, its tusks that curved upwards from the bottom of its mouth were jagged, making it look like a serrated blade. The head of the beast, much like its body, was covered in short fur, dark brown with some stripes of a faded white colour around its neck, hooves for back feet with hind legs shorter than the front…arms? Arms that resembled that of a bodybuilder, and also the only area covered in dark leathery skin rather than the short fur that surrounded the rest of the beast. For the time being it seemed to be wary, it was a strange encounter for both of us. Probably the first time the likes of either of us saw something like the other. Half a minute had passed, all that time of just staring at each other unsure of what the correct action would be. The beast seemed aggressive in nature. How do I know you may ask? Well it didn’t take much longer before it lunged at me, letting out a shriek. A battlecry perhaps, or maybe just a scare tactic. Even though the beast looked alien to me, I knew that my life was in danger, and that this fight would be much more violent than ones I am used to.

After its initial launch start, the beast maintained momentum and charged at me with what I can only assume was its full force. The front arms acting as steering and support for its quick hind legs, it didn’t take long for it to get in range of an attack, covering about 10-15 metres in a matter of a few seconds. I was forced with a decision, stand my ground and fight, or try my best to scurry back into the opening I came from. Many opponents have faced and fallen to me, but none instilled a primal fear of the unknown. After all, this one wasn’t human. I steeled my resolve and got into the only sword stance I knew, taking in a deep breath and pulling my right arm back whilst lifting it so that my elbow was in line with the top of my shoulder, supporting the hilt with my left. Both of my feet planted firmly into the ground with my pivot slightly in front of my off-foot shoulder width apart. As the beast approached with its long arms extended it jumped off the ground when reaching an optimal distance away from me, betting its first attack on being its last, I used my back foot to twist to the outside of my attacker, swinging the blade around and downwards horizontally as I reached the end of my full turn. The blade struck its back as the arms flew past my midsection, I barely avoided the attack, timing it to near perfection, and once more the blade went through another object as smooth as slicing butter, there was no resistance from the opposition. The creature's leathery hide and muscular body didn’t stand a chance, and it only took a brief moment before it's severed corpse laid on the ground motionless, the bottom half had lost momentum and fell not too far from me, whilst the top retained its speed and flew into the cave wall behind me. I let out the breath that I held, and before looking back at the corpse I had a glance at the blade. With most swords, when cutting and slicing through something. Particularly living flesh, the blood would rest on the blade almost like a trophy. All swordsmen know that leaving it there will only cause the blade to rust and degrade, so they end up either wiping the blade with a clean cloth or if you’re cool, flicking it off with one quick swift motion. To my surprise, the sword had no blood on it. The severed halves of the corpse were bleeding out, its vital organs spilling out as well as stomach acid spewed on the floor mixing with the blood, but the sword itself was as clean, and beautiful as if it were never drawn.

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I thought encountering another living being would give me a rough idea of where I am or even how deep I fell, but this encounter once again gave me even more questions. Looking at the corpse in front of me, even if it did share qualities with animals I’ve seen before, it was nothing like them. A predator for sure and a rather grotesque or should I say unique looking animal at that, but none of it seemed real. At this point I was unsure of whether to proceed further down the large space. I was certain that I could handle more of these creatures if it came to that, but I had no information about their species and habits. It left too much to the unknown, which at this point was a recurring theme. I think I’m becoming more agitated the more time I spend here. It's all strange and ridiculous, none of it makes sense and at the end of it all I’m beginning to feel like I’m going mad. Well that may be for the best if I truly am going mad then, then what I’m about to do may not matter to me so much. Since waking up I’ve been starved and thirsty, and finally a dead… meal was in front of me. Not a gourmet meal I must add, but sustenance nonetheless.

“It’s fine, it’s just meat, it’s just meat…” A spy is truly a force to be reckoned with, it takes a great deal of mental strength and conditioning to be able to apply oneself to a role that might last them a very long time, and to still stay as the person you truly are. Perhaps applying my skills in this way wasn’t the intended purpose, but you know what they say about beggars.

Gritting my teeth and deceiving myself I began to carve away at the fresh bit of… pork that I will devour in the next coming moments. Thankfully I am now able to let go of the hilt of the sword, for some reason? Even though I was incapable of doing it earlier. However, the chains still remain attached to my shoulder and the hilt binding us together, and the sword does stay relatively close to my wrist dangling in mid air if I let go. At least this way I was able to maneuver it more freely, and with how sharp it is I was able to make quick work when cleaning and slicing the meat. All that was left was to produce a fire… yeah nevermind. I mean how the fuck am I meant to make a fire with nothing to fuel it as well as no spark. I mean the sword just cuts through everything so I can’t even try to cause sparks by scraping it against rock, and lastly I’m in a cave where there is nothing but rocks and now a corpse of one of its residents. The fur might work for a few seconds as a fire starter but I have nothing to keep the fire going with. Disappointed by my lack of resources I must once again look deep into myself and well simply put, put up with it. So I did.

I took a piece of the meat I carved out from the carcass, looking at it closely it didn’t seem that odd or foul aside from it being, well… raw, and foreign? The smell was very similar to that of an actual wild boar and if it wasn’t for the blood still freshly dripping from the slice, it would actually look quite appetising if seen at a butchers or packed neatly at the convenience store or your local market. However, the part of my brain which held knowledge of where this slice of meat actually came from was quite reluctant to put it in my own mouth. On the other hand if I didn’t, I most likely would not have the strength to continue onwards, and this way I can also sustain the need for liquids by ingesting the blood that came with the lovely porkchop. Yeah a lovely porkchop with a side of some exotic wine. You know I have seen before, island tribes indulge in fresh cows' blood. Not sure if it was for some ritual or if it was something they did as a token for good health, but I mean surely if they do it it can’t be all that bad right?

Convincing myself once more I brought the piece of flesh to my mouth, staring at it intently for a few seconds. Trying to block out any senses that would affect my survival, I opened wide and aggressively bit into it, the flavour of copper exploded in my mouth. No, quite literally the blood exploded in my mouth, caking the insides of my cheeks, my teeth and dripping down into my throat. The meat itself was gamy, easy to tear into but hard to chew, with a slight fatty texture mixing itself in, frankly put it was absolutely the worst cuisine I had to ever consume. The mix of textures and flavour overwhelmed my senses, and the resolve from before was being challenged.

“Wreghh!” I retched and placed my hand over my mouth to keep whatever I swallowed from coming back up, the lack of food and water just made the process of vomiting that much harder. It was like my body was trying to cough out whatever I put into it, completely oblivious to the fact that this might be our only meal for the foreseeable future. I didn’t get a choice, eat and maybe die from a disease, or starve and die from starvation and dehydration. Out of the two evil’s I might’ve chosen the most horrifying one.

Taking a few moments to recover from my ‘lovely lunch’ I planted my ass on the floor, and rested my wrists on my knees whilst letting my head fall on top of them. ‘Tired’, was an understatement, but I know that resting right now isn’t an option. I have to keep moving forward. Collecting myself swiftly, I stood up and started making my way towards the exit. Well rather, I made my way towards where I thought the exit may be. The cave/tunnel that I was in only went one way, or so I assumed since the opening I came out of was formed in a solid wall and the only place that led to was the initial cave I woke up in. Having already encountered an unfriendly resident, I knew that there is a high possibility of more encounters that lead to life or death situations. After all, in a place as such, food must be a highly sought after commodity for these creatures, and even though they’re not that tasty to me, we probably don't share the same pallet. As I continued to walk forward the scenery stayed relatively the same, the glowing blue rocks continued to light a path forward. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, well out of the ordinary for this space I guess, that I could see as I made my way. It honestly felt like the bottom of the barrel of whatever series of tunnels or caves there may be here, that last animal I killed was most likely lost as there is not much to hunt here, or maybe because it doesn’t look like there’s much to hunt here, there's even less to hunt wherever it came from? Whatever the case, I’m just glad that after what felt like an hour of walking I still haven’t run into anything else, but that also made me uneasy. At least seeing a bug or something could point me in a direction; but no, nothing, nada, nish, just a long spacious tunnel covered in glowing blue rocks, at a certain point in time you begin to ask yourself if you even made any progress. Just as the thought finished crossing my mind it finally happened, the one directional tunnel came to an end. I finally came across a divergence, the tunnel still continued onwards, but to the right stood a flight of stairs, it was out of place. The stairs were crafted from marble, with black marble as the riser and white as the tread, accompanied with gold accents on the outlines, and didn’t fit the aesthetic of the tunnel at all. The most odd thing was the sign at the top of the opening leading to the stairs. Honestly the sign was just a bunch of scribbles, perhaps a language far too ancient to recognise, would be my guess…

Unless of course the markings on the sign start to reshape and warp in front of your own eyes to then spell out ‘Floor -10, stairs to floor 0’ in very clear written english. If it wasn’t for the fact that I nearly threw up earlier, survived a humanoid beast with a great resemblance to a wild boar, and was dragging around a sword that was attached to me by chain. I would’ve thought I was tripping my balls off on that new drug the CIA created to introduce into underdeveloped and minority heavy areas! To be honest this is ten times better than not knowing what the sign says, but floors?

“To have floors, and man made stairs crafted clearly to establish dominance and show off. There must be residents here, now whether they’re friendly or hostile is another issue. The path that continues probably leads to a dead end, otherwise there would surely be another sign indicating that there is something there.” Going up clearly had the higher chances of figuring out where I am or at least it would let me find and interrogate someone for answers. It wasn’t a difficult decision to make on where to go, the hard part was gauging if I can tackle the challenges ahead. Once more I’m faced with a situation where no previous information is accessible to me.

“I’ve never been much of a gambling man… Fuck it, sometimes you have to just roll the dice.”

The stairway wasn’t as long as I thought it’d be, or maybe it was the fact that I had no perception of time down here, but each step became heavier the further up I went. An unsettling feeling overcame me, my resolve was absolute, but doubts and worries are always prevalent when faced with the dark chasm of the unknown. Some revel in it. Dreamers whose only wish is to gain knowledge no matter the cost. Others much like myself dread it, as we do not possess the necessary recklessness to develop an unyielding thirst for knowledge, I myself would like to label it as survival instincts. Curiosity and wanderlust is the backbone of advancement, but being able to coldly piece together the clues and find a logical way of approaching danger with prior knowledge is the spy way. An attitude and mentality which has been ingrained in me, after all everybody who stands at death’s door will intuitively fight against passing through, it's only human.

It didn’t take long for me to approach the end of the stairway. I could see the path starting to level off, and a light which was more indicative to be man made entered my peripheral. This was the moment where I could find out more about this place. Not wanting to rush in and expose my position, I decided to stay close to the rocky wall and slow down while bending my knees so that my body can’t be seen as fast. Approaching the end of the stairs slowly, the room which I will be entering slowly came into view. The decor was reminiscent of a gothic castle, and the room itself was more like the main room upon entry of a castle, another set of stairs leading further up could be seen sporting the same design as the stairs I just came up on. Accompanied with red carpet and marble tile floors, whereas the walls were painted black and covered in paintings depicting horned humanoid creatures. I tried to keep myself as low as possible as I peered over the last few steps of the stairs, as my eyes darted around the space taking in as much information as possible, they wandered onto the figure that emerged from the side of the large staircase that was at the back.

“Ishkram furselkus marfa-now, I know you’re there.” Low and authoritative, the voice of the figure and the words spoken could be heard clearly as once again they translated into a language known to me.

Realising that I’ve already been found I stood at full height and finished my walk up the stairs. The humanoid figure was now in full view as we stood a decent distance apart, and for the first time in a while I felt intimidated and anxious. The being in question was tall and covered the majority of their body with a dark gold, mediaeval armour accompanied by a red cape with golden amulets where the collar bone is located, which covered the shoulders and the chest. An open helmet that covered the sides of the face and the top of the head, it was in the shape of a serpent's mouth without the lower jaw, with curved and jagged horns that came out from the top at the sides of the cranium. The main shape of the helmet was made out of a black material, while the serpent design accompanied it in gold, and slight scuff marks showing signs of use could be seen. The tall slender figure looked akin to a human, with the only noticeable differentiations being the horns as well as the pointed ears. Its long, loose, curly dark hair blanketed the chest and upper back of its armour, and its face was stern, with pale, smooth skin, sharp jaw and one eye crimson in colour whilst the other was covered by an eyepatch. A halberd being held at its side, with the handle matching the colour of the armour and the blade itself made out of the same black material as the helmet for the heavy part, whilst the sharp edge more of a silver metallic colour resembling that of steel after its forging process, and a red jewel as the sharp point almost like a ruby, but certainly much stronger if it’s main use is for combat.

“It seems like a rat has crawled its way out of the basement, and here I thought our pest control was far better than this. No matter. I, Hallimer royal demons guard captain, shall exterminate the pest to preserve the tower's prestige.”

“Wait a minute you won't even bother hearing me out?”

“So the rat speaks, unfortunately for you I do not see the need to chase this matter further, the decision has been made, now perish you pitiful thing.” Hallimer’s arm extended and his open palm was aimed directly at me, red energy began to gather and the room took on the coloured glow, my eyes widened and my body instinctively moved to the right. At that moment a blast of energy came forth, it travelled at light speed and smashed into the wall behind me, blasting a hula hoop sized crater in the wall. I looked back at the damage and was thankful my instincts were fast enough to perceive that, otherwise my torso would’ve been turned into a doughnut. I turned my attention from the wall back to Hallimer who just stood there with a deadpan face.

“For what reason did you move? What a shame, now your suffering will only be prolonged…”